IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Hey, fintech fam 💜

Quick update before we dive in: the FEMMY Awards are officially moving to March 2, kicking off Women’s History Month with a room full of the most powerful women in fintech — exactly how it should be.

If the date shift makes it easier for you to join us, I hope to see you there. You can find event details, table hosting, and Academy of Fintech memberships on the FEMMYs event page. For sponsorship questions, you can always reach me or email [email protected].

And yes — New York Fintech Week (April 28–30) planning is in full swing, including a killer opening interview for the Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit. If your company wants to make a splash during the big week, you know where to find me.

Alright — let’s get into the news ✨

#SPONSORED

🎙 Humans of Fintech Is Taking Over Fintech Meetup

For the first time ever, Humans of Fintech is hosting the premier podcast booth at Fintech Meetup—where the fintech industry actually does business.

This isn’t just another conference. Fintech Meetup brings together leaders from banks, fintechs, credit unions, and investing firms for 50,000+ one-to-one meetings designed to drive real partnerships and real ROI.

And this year, we’re spotlighting the humans behind the headlines.

🎧 Nominate Someone to Be Featured on Humans of Fintech

In partnership with Fintech Meetup, we’re launching a special nomination contest for the Fintech Is Femme community.

Here’s how it works:

• Nominate yourself or a colleague to be featured in a live recording of Humans of Fintech on the Fintech Meetup show floor

• All nominees receive discounted Fintech Meetup tickets

• Two winners — the nominator and the nominee — receive FREE VIP tickets

• The selected nominee records a live podcast episode with Nicole Casperson, with their story and insights distributed across the Humans of Fintech network of 100,000+ fintech leaders

Ready to step into the spotlight?

Because fintech is built by humans — and their stories deserve the mic.

Ready to join Fintech Meetup now? Secure your registration here.

#TRENDING

What’s Up In Fintech

Every Thursday, I break down the fintech stories that matter most—grounded in my reporting, interviews with industry leaders, and what I’m seeing unfold across the industry.

#1 Phia’s $35M Raise Signals How AI Agents Reshape Fintech

This week, fashion-tech startup Phia announced a $35 million Series A at a $185 million valuation to build what it calls the “AI alignment layer for commerce.”

While the headline reads like a consumer commerce win, I couldn’t help but see implications that run much deeper for fintech.

Phia — co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni — is an AI shopping agent embedded directly into users’ natural shopping flow, helping them make better purchasing decisions in real time.

The round was led by Notable Capital, with participation from Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins, following rapid early traction: more than 1 million users and partnerships with 6,200+ retail brands, influencing billions in annual consumer spend.

But this isn’t just about shopping.

Earlier this month, I interviewed Stephanie Ferris, President and CEO of FIS, who described this moment as “generational” for financial services. She told me AI agents will increasingly initiate and execute transactions on behalf of consumers — and that banks need new infrastructure to remain relevant when that happens.

That’s why FIS recently closed its $13.5 billion acquisition of Global Payments’ Issuer Solutions business and announced a new “agentic commerce” offering for banks, built in partnership with Visa and Mastercard.

If FIS is building the rails for a world where AI agents transact, Phia is shaping the layer that determines which transactions happen at all.

That distinction matters.

Phia’s growth highlights something fintech has long promised — but often struggled to deliver: helping people make better financial decisions. While fintech has over-optimized the last mile — payments, rails, checkout — Phia is winning earlier, by shaping where money flows before a transaction ever happens.

What if fintech’s next moat isn’t the transaction itself — but the decision at the moment of purchase?

That’s where intent comes in — and why intent may become one of the most valuable layers in fintech as AI agents shift from passive tools to active participants in the economy.

Phia operates upstream from payments, but downstream from decision-making — exactly where fintech has historically struggled to create real leverage. Instead of optimizing for checkout speed or discounts, the company focuses on confidence, value, and trust before money ever moves.

As Kianni told me, “Shopping is already a financial decision. It’s about making each dollar go as far as possible.”

One insight Phia uncovered early: resale value acts as a proxy for financial intelligence. If a $500 handbag resells for $400, the consumer hasn’t really spent $500 — they’ve converted cash into a durable asset.

That framing flips consumption into capital allocation.

The results are telling. Brands working with Phia report higher conversion rates, larger order values, and dramatically lower return rates — metrics that signal better decision-making, not just more transactions.

For fintech leaders watching agentic commerce evolve, that distinction matters.

Phia’s growth has also been fueled by founder-led distribution rather than paid acquisition, with over 2 million followers and 430 million views across owned platforms, including the founders’ podcast The Burnouts.

In an agent-driven economy, audience, distribution, and trust-based intent are emerging as real moats — not just nice-to-haves.

The Series A builds on early momentum. Last September, Phia raised an $8 million seed round led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from operators and cultural leaders including Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sara Blakely, Michael Rubin, Desiree Gruber, and Sheryl Sandberg — a signal of how closely commerce, culture, and financial decision-making are converging.

The takeaway for fintech:

The next phase of competition won’t just be about rails, speed, or access. It will be about who influences decisions before checkout — and who earns trust at scale.

Read my full Forbes analysis on what Phia’s raise signals for fintech and agentic commerce here.

#2 Tala Expands To Vietnam With $100M Partnership

I’ve been covering Tala for years — and this week’s news feels like an important signal for where global financial inclusion is headed. 

Tala announced a $100 million partnership with ASEAN banking group CIMB to launch digital credit in Vietnam, marking the company’s entry into one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing markets. It also makes Tala the first U.S.-based fintech startup to offer regulated digital credit access in the country, according to the announcement.

On the surface, this is a market expansion story. But look closer, and it’s also a case study on financial inclusion at scale. 

Vietnam has made significant progress on digital banking adoption, but access to affordable, flexible credit remains limited for many consumers. Tala’s model — AI-driven underwriting, fast decisioning, and fully digital disbursement — is designed for exactly that gap.

Through the partnership, eligible customers can access a flexible line of credit with limits of up to VND 30 million, customizable repayment schedules, and the ability to repay early without penalties. Everything runs through Tala’s app, while CIMB provides the licensed banking infrastructure and regulatory framework.

This is not Tala’s first time doing this well.

The company has spent the last decade building and refining this playbook across emerging markets, including the Philippines, where it has served roughly four million customers and disbursed more than $2 billion in credit. Globally, Tala has now reached nearly 13 million users and deployed more than $7 billion across three continents.

What stands out — especially if you’ve followed fintech’s last wave of global expansion — is what Tala isn’t doing.

It’s not trying to bypass banks.

It’s not launching a standalone lending product and hoping regulators catch up.

And it’s not chasing growth for growth’s sake.

Instead, Tala is embedding its technology into the financial system — partnering with a major regional bank that brings regulatory expertise, local market knowledge, and scale.

Shivani Siroya, Tala’s founder and CEO, said in the announcement that this partnership is about delivering safe, affordable credit to people who don’t have it today — and doing so responsibly.

Why This Matters

This deal reflects a broader shift in fintech’s global strategy.

The next phase of expansion isn’t about disruption narratives — it’s about distribution, trust, and regulatory alignment. Especially in emerging markets, fintechs that succeed will be those that know how to scale their impact with the right ecosystem partners. 

Tala’s Vietnam launch also reinforces that access to responsible credit remains one of the most powerful tools for economic mobility — and one of the hardest to deliver well.

By pairing AI-native underwriting with a licensed banking partner, Tala is showing what inclusive, sustainable fintech infrastructure looks like in practice.

#3 Georgia Fintech Academy Impact Report Shows Education’s Role in Building Future Fintech Talent

As AI, automation, and digital finance continue to reshape how money moves, the industry is facing a hard truth: we can’t build the future of fintech without dramatically increasing fintech literacy.

Not just for engineers or bankers — but for the next generation of workers who need to understand finance and technology and how the two intersect.

That’s why the Georgia Fintech Academy’s 2025 Impact Report stands out.

Launched in 2019 by the University System of Georgia and housed at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business, the Academy was designed around a simple idea: fintech education can’t be siloed, optional, or exclusive. It needs to be accessible, practical, and closely aligned with workforce demand.

Fintech is still a relatively new discipline in higher education. Most professionals working in the industry today learned on the job. But as the pace of innovation accelerates—especially as AI is reshaping roles faster than org charts can keep up—that model no longer scales.

In 2025, the Georgia Fintech Academy reached more than 2,500 students across all 26 public institutions in Georgia, delivered 70 speaker and industry events, and saw engagement grow more than 13% year over year. Since launch, its programs have reached over 17,000 participants.

More importantly, education is translating into employment.

The Academy supported approximately 780 internship placements across fintech, banking, payments, and financial services-adjacent companies. Based on follow-up data, an estimated 250+ students converted those internships into full-time roles — creating early-career pathways in an industry that often struggles to hire talent with real-world readiness.

That conversion rate matters.

Fintech leaders regularly say the same thing: finding people who understand compliance and data, payments and product, risk and innovation is incredibly hard. The Georgia Fintech Academy’s model — combining curriculum, employer partnerships, and hands-on experience — is one way to close that gap.

Executive Director Laura Gibson-Lamothe emphasized that progress at this scale requires sustained collaboration between academia and industry, with employers actively investing time, mentorship, and expertise — not just job postings.

The bigger takeaway for fintech:

As new technology reshapes financial services, fintech literacy is becoming a core workforce requirement, not a niche skill set. The future of fintech won’t be built solely by specialists — it will be built by teams that understand how money, technology, regulation, and data work together.

Check out the full report here.

_{MARK YOUR CALENDARS}

Let’s keep you booked and busy. Every Thursday, I share fintech events worth adding to your calendar— both IRL and online.

_{MONDAY, MARCH 2}

[NEW YORK] ​THE FEMMY AWARDS: Presented by the Academy of Fintech

Last year, I quietly launched The Academy of Fintech.

No big campaign. No flashy ads. Just word of mouth.

Fast forward: it’s now 200+ founders, operators, investors, and banking leaders who don’t just work in fintech — they shape it. This is the group text you want to be in. The rooms where conversations turn into real opportunity.

And on March 2 in New York City, we’re bringing that energy together for the Second Annual FEMMY Awards — officially kicking off Women’s History Month with a can’t-miss, gala-style night celebrating the women actually building fintech’s future.

This isn’t a sit-in-your-seat awards show.

It’s a room.

Founders. CEOs. Investors. Operators. Decision-makers.

The kind of night where introductions matter and the after-conversations last all year.

For many, the FEMMYs are also the front door into The Academy of Fintech — a community that lives far beyond one night through:

• a private Slack,

• monthly virtual salons and masterclasses,

• and consistent access to rooms where relationships compound.

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to step deeper into the fintech ecosystem — this is it.

Join us by attending the FEMMYs, hosting a table, or becoming part of the Academy in the way that feels right for you.

_{APRIL 28-30}

[NEW YORK] Meet FTW: A three-part Summit Series premiering at New York Fintech Week

Welcome to FTW: New York — the official three-day, three-summit of New York Fintech Week.

After two years of rapid growth from our flagship Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit — and the breakout success of the Fintech Security Summit — we’re leveling up.

This year, we’re expanding with intention and impact.

In partnership with leaders across venture, go-to-market, identity, and security, FTW: New York brings together three focused summits, each designed to go deeper, move faster, and deliver real ROI for the people actually building fintech.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Tuesday, April 28

🔥 The Fintech Summit — hosted by Fiat Growth Ventures & Drew Glover

Where growth, go-to-market, and scale take center stage.

Wednesday, April 29

💜 The Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit — hosted by me, Nicole Casperson

The room where leadership, influence, and the future of fintech collide.

Thursday, April 30

🔐 The Fintech Security Summit — led by Frances Zelazny

A deep dive into identity, trust, and the infrastructure protecting fintech’s next era.

🎟️ Early bird tickets are live now.

Whether you’re coming for one day or the full three-day experience, this is the week to show up.

Interested in sponsoring or making a serious splash during New York Fintech Week?

Reply to this email, and I’ll get you connected — inventory is limited and moving fast.

_FINTUNES

🎵 Joyce Wrice - Break Me In

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_{LET’S CONNECT}

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🎤 Host an epic event by booking me as a speaker, moderator, or emcee.

📚 Increase your expertise by ordering your copy of my book, Fintech Feminists: Increasing Inclusion, Redefining Innovation, and Changing the Future for Women Around the World.

That wraps up today’s edition—thanks for reading! Until next week, keep innovating and challenging the status quo. See you Tuesday!

Love,

Nicole 💜